Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Telescoping branches

Here's a painting of a tree I made this fall for a show at Old Lyme. This is a studio version of one I made outside. It is an 18 by 24. I thought as long as I was blogging about trees I should show a few of my own paintings of trees. Tonight I want to talk a little more about constant taper. Although trees have constant taper on a macro scale, on a micro scale there is another thing going on, telescoping. Here is another tree below and then a detail of the same tree.

Below is the detail.

Notice that the branch doesn't actually decrease much in size until it hits a joint where another branch leaves it, it THEN continues on, a little reduced in diameter. So it is like a telescope, formed of cylinders of decreasing size not an extremely elongated cone. In other words the branch grows along as a nearly uniformly diametered section almost like a section of pipe, until another branch leaves it, then it continues on in a reduced diameter like a second piece of pipe.

This is part of the reason why most trees have an angularity to their construction, this, section, joint, section construction effects the look of some species more than others, but most have some degree of it.

Tomorrow I will begin to describe branching behavior.There is a lot to this so I am paying it out one concept at a time. Its a little like math, each of these concepts is built upon the back of the last one. So if you don't understand it, read it again before you go on. If I haven't explained it well enough let me know in the comments.

Might I say this is a most beautiful painting!? Stape, I just might tattoo "Stapleton Kerns" on my neck.(all upper case old english of course!)Seriously though, this painting IS what I'm trying to achiave. I promise I'll be good from now on.

well, yeah, that painting is quite lovely. Great color. Those warm shades are great. It looks similar to a place I tried to cross a stream in snowshoes and got stuck. (long story)The telescoping concept is a great way to describe what's going on. I hadn't quite thought of it in those terms, though I had observed thereality of that. It is always nice to have a handy nail to hang an idea on for easy reference.

Hi Everyone,Stapleton, you can see by this exchange that Will and I have been having an ongoing discussion about where and how far you can push sky color to create atmospheric light. Your painting is a picture perfect example of what I am drawn to in landscapes. Deborah Paris also does this beautifully in her paintings. Will is more of a literal observationist (my own word here) than I am. And we are STILL friends

Oh WOW! Stapleton...Your use of color blows me away. I can walk right in and wade in this stream. All the while knowing that something special is waiting for me at the back tree line. A painting this "FINE" shows how hard you have worked to hone your skills. I knight thee Master Stapleton!!!! Very informtive post also.barbara b "land of boz"

That is indeed a wonderful painting; one senses a reserve, the peculiar restraint that nature displays in revealing color and atmosphere. We painters I hope I'm not alone in this!) tend to jump into the painting of nature without a structural grasp of what we are looking at. There is anatomy for the figurative painter, but the only source of knowledge about the wonderful subject of trees that I was aware of was The Artistic Anatomy of Trees by R.V. Cole. Your insights have motivated me to reread this !

Tom:Rex Vicat Coles book is excellent. I have read it aand some of what I am showing here I learned reading RV COLE. The language of the book is very dated, many of the species in the book exist only in England and about half of the book is not really useful to a painter though. Carlson writes about trees also, but in a more theoretical way....................Stape

About Me

I am a professional landscape painter.I make my living painting pictures.
In my blog I show my paintings, offer some of the techniques, ideas and methods I have learned over the years, and talk about how to make a living as an artist. I present some essays on painting, art, and hopefully amuse you some at the same time. I will also tell you about many of the fine painters I have known over the years and some who died long ago. I talk about my training in the studios of R.H.Ives Gammell and about the many artists who have mentored me along the way. I also try to explain what I THINK makes a good painting, and how to go about making one.
If you have just found this blog, I suggest you go back to the earliest posts and read forward. It is now an enormous archive of about a thousand posts. The posts start out with the most basic information and progress towards the more philosophical side of painting. I hope you will find it useful!
.............Stape

Teaching

I do teach and I do travel. If you are interested in booking workshops or having me visit and teach at your institution, school or art association please email me at stapletonkearns@gmail.com I am presently booked for several workshops in the coming year and will be announcing more . If you are interested in attending a workshop please let me know as well.